Ministry of Coal
Increase in Domestic Coal Production
Varied Measures in place for Self-sufficiency in Coal Production
Most of the requirement of coal in the country is met through indigenous production / supply. The focus of the Government is on increasing the domestic production of coal and to eliminate non-essential import of coal in the country. In the year 2022-23, coal production increased by 14.77% over the previous year. During the current year till June’ 2023, domestic coal production has increased over 8.51% compared to the same period of last year. The steps taken by the Government to make the country self-sufficient in the production of coal are as under:
- Regular reviews by Ministry of Coal to expedite the development of coal blocks.
- Enactment of Mines and Minerals  Amendment Act, 2021 for enabling captive mines owners  to sell up to 50% of their annual mineral  production in the open market after meeting the requirement of the end use plant linked with the mine in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government on payment of such additional amount.
- Single Window Clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up the operationalization of coal mines.
- Project Monitoring Unit for handholding of coal block allottees for obtaining various approvals / clearances for early operationalization of coal mines.
- Auction of commercial mining on revenue sharing basis launched in 2020. Under commercial mining scheme, rebate of 50 % on final offer would be allowed for the quantity of coal produced earlier than scheduled date of production. Also, incentives on coal gasification or liquefaction  have been granted.
- Coal India Limited is adopting Mass Production Technologies  in its Underground  mines, mainly Continuous Miners , wherever feasible. Coal India Limited has also envisaged working large numbers of Highwalls  mines in view of the availability of Abandoned / Discontinued mines. Coal India Limited is also planning large capacity UG mines wherever feasible.
- In its Opencast  mines, Coal India Limited already has State-of-the-Art technology in its high capacity Excavators, Dumpers and Surface Miners. Digitization is being tried on pilot scale in 7 of its mega mines and shall be replicated further.
- SCCL has planned to produce 75 MT by 2023-24 from the present level of 67 MT. Regular liasioning is being undertaken for grounding of new projects. In addition, progress of activities of new projects and operations of existing projects is being regularly monitored.
Measures taken by the Government to substitute coal imports and increase domestic coal supplies are as under:
- The ACQ has been increased upto 100% of the normative requirement, in the cases where the ACQ was either reduced to 90% of normative requirement  or where the ACQ was reduced to 70% of normative requirement . Increase in the ACQ would result in more domestic coal supplies, thereby, reducing the import dependency.
- Under the provisions of Para B   of SHAKTI Policy, coal linkage is provided for short term for sale of power generated through that linkage in Day Ahead Market  through Power Exchanges or in short term through a transparent bidding process through DEEP portal. In addition, with the amendment to the NRS linkage auction policy introduced in 2020, the tenure of coking coal linkages in the NRS linkage auction has been revised for a period upto 30 years. The coal offered for short term to the Power Plants under the amended provisions of SHAKTI Policy as well as increase in the tenure of the coking coal linkages in the Non-Regulated Sector linkage auction for a period upto 30 years is expected to have a positive impact towards coal imports substitution.
- Government has decided in 2022 that the coal to meet the full PPA requirement of all the existing linkage holders of Power Sector shall be made available by the coal companies irrespective of the trigger level and Annual Contracted Quantity levels. The decision of the Government of meeting the full PPA requirement of the linkage holders of the Power Sector shall reduce the dependence on the imports.
- An Inter - Ministerial Committee  has been constituted in the Ministry of Coal on 29.05.2020 for the purpose of coal import substitution. The Representatives from Ministry of Power, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Steel, Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises , Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade , Central Electricity Authority , Coal Companies and Ports aremembers of this IMC. Nine meetings of the IMC have been held so far. On the directions of the IMC, an Import Data System has been developed by Ministry of Coal to enable the Ministry to track the imports of coal. Efforts are taken to ensure more domestic supplies of coal.
The details of CIL coal mines abandoned/closed/discontinued during the las tthree years, is given below:
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CIL Subsidiary
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Name of Mines
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ECL
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Kalipahari OC Patch A
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New Kenda
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BCCL
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Bera
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Damagoria
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Kenduadih
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KB 10/12 Pits
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Salanpur
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Bhowrah 
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WCL
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Shobhapur
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Ghorawari/Jharna
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Barkuhi OC
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Bharat 
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SECL
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Pinoura
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Mahamaya
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Bishrampur
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Mahan
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Mahan-II
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Katkona 3 & 4
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MCL
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Orient-3
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NEC
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Tipong
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Tirap
The coal mines likely to be closed by Coal India Limited  after completion of coal extraction work are as under:
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CIL Subsidiary
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Name of Mines
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WCL
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New Sethiya Scheme OC, Mohan Scheme Ph-IV OC, Mathani UG, Chhattarpur II UG, New Majri Sec I & II A OC, Penganga OC, Kolgaon RPR OC, Junad Extn OC, Umrer OC, Ballarpur OC, Chhinda Scheme OC 
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SECL
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North Chirimiri UG, Malga UG, Pinoura UG 
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NCL
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Kakri OCM
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MCL
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Basundhara  Expansion OCP
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CCL
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Dakra OC
Closed coal mines of SCCL due to exhaustion of reserves / conversion to OC mines for the last three years are as below:
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Name of Mines
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RK-8 Incline
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VK-7 Incline
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JVR OC
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GDK 7 LEP
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BPA OC II
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Medipalli OC
List of the mines proposed to be closed by SCCL in the current year & next three years:
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KK1 Inc.
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RK1A Inc.
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GK OCP
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JK5OC
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RKPOC
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RK-NT
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RK-6 Inc.
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SRP-1 INC
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MNG OC
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RG OC-1 Expn. & Ph-II
Finding new areas for mining coal and lignite through exploration is a continuous process. There is one sub-scheme i.e. Promotional  exploration continuing through Central Sector Scheme of Ministry of Coal for exploration of new areas of coal & lignite. In addition to this Geological Survey of India  also carries out investigation of minerals including coal.
This information was given by Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.